District Superintendent Says Gov. Cuomo's Budget Deceiving

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Johnson City, NY (WBNG Binghamton) From increasing energy efficiency to eliminating redundancies, the Johnson City School District has saved hundred of thousands of dollars doing more with less, officials said.

District Business Manager John Mauro says that's been key as state money has dried up in the past few years.

But BOCES Superintendent Allen Buyck says that's deceiving because much of the funding is tied to competitive grants for specific programs or outcomes.

"To categorize money into little separate buckets, that may not be where a particular school district needs the help the most," Buyck said.

The governor's budget promises a 4.4 percent increase to the education budget.

However, Buyck said if the competitive grants and other sources of extra funding tied to specific actions are removed, the actual increases for aid to schools in the Southern Tier are anywhere from less than 1 percent to 3 percent.

And Buyck said that increase isn't enough.

The governor said tying more aid to specific requirements like longer school days and performance will help schools become better.